On January 15, 2010, the Journal of Dialectics of Nature (hereinafter the Journal) held a meeting of the Editorial Board at Beijing Friendship Hotel. The meeting was attended by more than 30 Editorial Board members from around the country. Professor Hu Xinhe, Vice President of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Chief Editor of the Journal presided over the meeting. Professor Ye Zhonghua, Vice President of the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a welcome on behalf of the sponsor Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, read the decision on establishing the Editorial Board of the Journal, and issued the letter of appointment to the Editorial Board members. Professor Hu Zhiqiang, Deputy Chief Editor of the Journal, read responsibilities of the Editorial Board (draft) and gave relevant explanations.

Professor Wang Daming, Director of the Editorial Office of the Journal, made a report on the work of the Editorial Office. He briefly introduced the history, current situation and countermeasures for future development of the Journal. Founded in 1978, the Journal was an advocate of emancipation of the mind and introducer of disciplines including the philosophy of science and the sociology of science in the 1980s and the water of pure academic land in the 1990s. With unrelenting efforts of former chief editors and editors and great supports of the academic circles, the Journal has become a most prestigious and influential core journal in the fields including the philosophy of science and technology, the history of science and technology and the sociology of science and technology. At present, it is faced with the challenges of intensifying competition, shrinkage of subscribers, shortage of original researcher in China, loss of excellent contribution sources, and inadequate running resources. In the 21^st century, the Journal will vigorously support original studies in philosophy of science, philosophy of technology, history of science and technology, sociology of science, culture of science, scientific and technological policies and administration, and encourage interdisciplinary researches and academic contention. By establishing the Editorial Board and the expert group, the Journal will actively participate in academic activities at home and abroad to enhance its level and expand its influence at home and abroad, and actively carry out international communication to enhance its influence in the academic world.

After taking group photos, the Editorial Board members had a heated discussion about the history and development of the journal. Mr. Fan Dainian, Director of the Editorial Board and former Chief Editor of the Journal, from the Institute of Scientific and Technological Policies and Administration of the Chinese Academy of Sciences talked about history of the Journal, and the role of predecessors including Li Chang, Qian Sanqiang and Yu Guangyuan in the Journal’s founding. He said emancipation of the mind was enlightenment and cited Immanuel Kant’s definition of enlightenment, “Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed nonage. Nonage is the inability to use one's own understanding without another's guidance. This nonage is self-imposed if its cause lies not in lack of understanding but in indecision and lack of courage to use one's own mind without another's guidance.” He emphasized that enlightenment was to free from superstition with reason and the two enemies of enlightenment were tyranny and superstition. The task of enlightenment hasn’t be accomplished in China, so the Journal shall continue to strive for it. In the 1980s, the Journal advocated free and independent thinking. For example, it published different opinions on the Three Gorges project, challenges about Li Siguang’s academic opinions, and critics about Liu Yaguang’s incident. In general, Mr. Fan held that the style of the Journal was to encourage independent thinking. In the 1980s, the Journal was brought in line with international practice. By systematically introducing research achievements in philosophy of science, history of science and sociology of science from abroad, it established the academic standards for studies in dialectics of nature. The 1990s was the hardest time for the Journal. The Institute of Scientific and Technological Policies and Administration of the Chinese Academy of Sciences wanted to cancel the Journal or change its orientation. It is thanks to the efforts of former Chief Editor Li Xingmin that the Journal was settled in the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Professor Li Xingmin made great contribution to the development of the Journal in the following 20 years. In the 21^st century, Mr. Fan thought it’s time for Chinese scholars to make innovations. He held, the value of science is a valuable question. Chinese science values ethics and it is conducive to the study on science, technology and ethics. Another question is administration and policy. Mr. Fan reviewed how the CPC successfully ran cities in the early days of New China, and proposed that science uses the methods of analysis and reduction while administration uses the comprehensive methods. In view of China’s economic status in the world, the Journal shall analyze and study practical issues in China, propose countermeasures and suggestions, and generate academic results with international influence. At last, Mr. Fan stressed the importance of establishing the Editorial Board and hoped the Editorial Board members could work hard together for the development of the Journal in the 21^st century.

Liu Dachun, Deputy Director of the Editorial Board, from Renmin University of China said he’s very glad about the establishment of the Editorial Board. He mentioned the great influence to the Chinese academic circles by the Series into the Future which is closely related to the Journal. After the Cultural Revolution, the Journal became a leader in the field of philosophy of science. It was most active in introducing western philosophy and discussion relevant academic issues. In the 21^st century, Mr. Liu proposed, the Journal shall be geared to the needs of the world, the future and modernization. The environment facing it is much different from past. Ten years ago, China was poor, but money isn’t the principal question now. There were a lot of articles but not much progress has been made with thinking. SCI and SSCI are important but not the most important. For example, a Taiwan journal was indexed by SSCI but it isn’t a very influential journal. The Journal needn’t spend much energy on SCI and SSCI like others do. What is important is the Journal shall become a standard of the academic circles. If people want to know the hot issues and latest progresses in the academic circles, they will come to the Journal. The Journal shall be innovative and stand out in philosophy of science, intellectual history of science and sociology of science.

Li Bocong, former Deputy Chief Editor of the Journal, from the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, acknowledged the important role of the Journal in development and education of philosophy of science. In the 1990s, the Journal settled down in the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Mr. Li talked about the process and mentioned the important role of Wang Yumin (the then secretary of the Party Committee of the Graduate School). The conditions were poor in the 1990s, but the Journal has never changed its name. Mr. Li also mentioned details in publication of the article Is It A Question of English or A Question of Scientific Ethics by Li Peishan.

Fan Hongye, former Editor of the Journal, from the Institute of Scientific and Technological Policies and Administration of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said it was a period of flaming enthusiasm for him when working at the Journal. He mentioned that in the early days of reform and opening-up, the great leap-forward of science in China required the guidance of dialectics of nature, so the Journal enjoyed a high level and emerged in a fighting posture when it’s just founded. The test issue in 1978 was brought to Shanghai by Mr. Fan and printed there. Mr. Fan thought the tradition of the Journal comprised the following four aspects: (1) introducing academic thoughts from the west; (2) discussing some traditions and classics emerging after 1949, such as “labor creates man”; (3) upholding scientific spirits and criticizing academic misconducts, such as the incidents of Li Senke, Liu Yaguang and Niu Manjiang; (4) the Editorial Office had no administrative positions and it’s filled with an equal and democratic air. No editors wanted to be an official at that time. It influenced the growth of quite a lot of postgraduate students. Mr. Fan said Mr. Li Baoheng, former Chief Editor of the Journal, tried using the dialectics of nature to guide scientific frontier, such as elementary particle conference and artificial intelligence conference, but found later that his strength didn’t match his ambitions. The Journal held the first academic meeting on sociology of science in Xiamen, starting the research on sociology of science in China. In addition, the Journal attached much importance to the cultivation of postgraduate students and trained a lot of new blood. Mr. Fan thought the contribution of Chief Editor Li Xingmin in the development history of the Journal was beyond doubt. Due to the social environment in the 1990s, the Journal wasn’t ambitious enough. Mr. Fan suggested the Journal shall make an issue of innovation in light of China’s history and reality. For example, it could study the history of science as ideology. He also mentioned emphasizing the concept of “science is productivity” may lead to negligence of scientific spirit and make frauds normal in the scientific circles. In characterization of scientists, the core values of science shall be established. Mr. Fan held that, the development road of science in China has twists and turns, and we could study the sociology of science in China based on the development history of science in China that is filled with twists and turns.

Professor Guan Zengjian from Shanghai Jiao Tong University said he began to read the Journal when he was an undergraduate student. In the 1990s, the Journal was a leader in China’s emancipation of the mind and a pride of the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences. In the 21^st century, the Journal shall become a practitioner of academic advancement in China. Professor Guo Shirong from Inner Mongolia Normal University thought that the Journal shall work hard on standardization. Nowadays, social norms threatens scholars. The reason for academic misconduct is social norms restricts academic norms. The Journal shall discuss how to regulate social norms and how to propose a scientific research management system that complies with academic norms to the Ministry of Education. Professor Deng Mingli from Hebei Normal University said, in the past 30 years, the Journal enlightened our mind, led our growth and trained a number of young scholars. We’ve all benefited from it.

Professor Zhu Jing from Sun Yat-sen University talked about the key role the Journal played in his growth. He was inspired by the Journal to be engaged in academic research. Professor Zhu said he was proud to be an Editorial Board member and he would work hard to carry forward the tradition of the Journal. He suggested that the Journal shall strengthen academic norms, be concerned about characteristics of times, and reinforce influence in the science and technology circles and education circles. Professor Zhao Wanli from Nankai University said the Journal led the development of sociology of science and gave him a place to settle down and get on with his pursuit. He suggested the Journal shall look for subjects related to the history and reality of China in the age of innovation. In this respect, the Institute for the History of Natural Sciences does pretty well. Professor Zhu Baowei, Executive Deputy Chief Editor of the Philosophical Researches said, the Journal was first-class in academic level and academic norms. He has subscribed to the Journal for 16 years. The task of the Journal now is to put forward issues concerned with the reality of China and introduce China’s achievements in philosophy of science to the world. With the Philosophical Researches as an example, Professor Zhu though the Journal shall stick to the goal of internationalization. Zhang Bochun, head of the Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, said he began to read the Journal from 1982 and received support from editors of the column History of Science and Technology. He suggested that the Journal shall become an interdisciplinary platform and play a new role in promoting integration of relevant fields.

Professor Sun Mutian from Harbin Normal University has subscribed to all issues of the Journal since its founding. He talked about how he turned from a reader to an author and now an editor of the Journal, which left a sweet memory to him. He proposed the following suggestions to the Journal. (1) The Journal shall encourage uprightness, which is making contribution to the environment and culture, and he hoped the Journal could stick with it. (2) The Journal shall stick to original contents. It is time for the Chinese academic circles to make contribution to the world. We should sort out original achievements since the reform and opening-up, translate them into English, and introduce them to the world. (3) The Journal shall promote diversification. Gu Zhun said, democratic freedom is diversification and thoughts must be diversified. The Journal has the tradition of diversification and shall adhere to the tradition. (4) The Journal shall know its do’s and don’ts, explore new fields and new trends, and concentrate on making a brand column to attract the attention at home and abroad. Moreover, the Journal shall maintain scientific and humanistic spirits and remain “profound and refined”. Professor Wan Fubin from Guangxi University for Nationalities said although an old man, he was new to the Journal. He learned the history of the Journal through Professor Wang Daming’s introduction, and would shoulder the responsibility as an Editorial Board member to make contribution to the Journal in terms of both human and material resources.

Professor Wu Tong from Tsinghua University also experience the process from reader to author and editor. He suggested that the Journal shall have an online edition, play a better role in developing new talents and consider authors from local colleges and universities to some extent. Professor Wu Guosheng, former editor of the Journal, from Peking University said the Journal was spiritual homeland of the circles. He suggested that the Journal shall be purely academic and reestablish standards for academic studies. Professor Wang Kedi from the Party School of the CPC Central Committee used to be an editor of the Journal. He suggested that the Journal shall build an online edition like Isis. Professor Xu Yanzhang from Zhejiang Gongshang University said the Journal was a banner and nurtured him with its thoughts. Professor Sheng Xiaoming from Zhejiang University talked about the importance of academic journals to scholars and suggested that the Editorial Board shall establish a mechanism to regulate and give play to the role of Editorial Board members. Professor Liu Bing, former editor of the Journal, from Tsinghua University said, the Journal is characterized in that it dares to speak, goes against the stream, and is avant-garde. He suggested that the Editorial Office shall carefully consider the practice of condensing every article for a larger number of articles because it shall not simply satisfy requirements of the system but neglect the academic demands. Professor Liu Xiaoting from Beijing Normal University suggested that the Journal shall pay attention to the role of international Editorial Board members, improve the quality of English abstracts. He suggested the Journal may consider having a symposium on it. Professor Chen Fan from Northeastern University sent a representative to attend the meeting. The representative said he would bring the Editorial Board members’ insights to Professor Chen and inherit the tradition of senior scholars. Professor Hong Xiaonan from Dalian University of Technology hoped the Journal could preserve good traditions and said he would do his best to fulfill the responsibilities as an Editorial Board member.

Professor Hu Xinhe, Deputy Director of the Editorial Board, concluded the meeting of the Editorial Board. He expounded the Journal’s concept: an expert, open and choicest journal, and introduced composition principles of the Editorial Board: (1) renowned scholars in philosophy of science and technology, history of science and technology, sociology of science and technology, and culture of science and technology; (2) representativeness of region, colleges and universities, and scientific research institutes; (3) long association with the Journal. Professor Hu said, the Journal is a public instrument and a home of scholars, so he hoped the Editorial Board members to build it together. He hoped the column edited and Editorial Board members could jointly discuss the subjects, organize symposiums, choose excellent contributions, and promote academic studies and the growth of new blood in relevant fields.

At last, Professor Ye Zhonghua said, the Editorial Board will make the Journal more thoughtful and academic. He thanked the insights of the Editorial Board member, said the Graduate School of Chinese Academic of Sciences would support the Journal to become better, and hoped the Editorial Board members would jointly support the Journal to develop continuously.